At the Horn | Canadiens 4 - Sabres 2

The Buffalo Sabres saw their six-game home winning streak snapped with a 4-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens at KeyBank Center on Saturday.

The two teams combined for five goals during the second period, during which Buffalo briefly pulled ahead 2-1. Josh Anderson scored the tying goal for Montreal, then Alex Newhook netted the winner with 2.6 seconds left in the period.

Cole Caufield also scored for Montreal during the second period and Jake Evans added an empty-net goal late. Jakub Dobes made 23 saves for the win.

Alex Tuch and Jiri Kulich scored goals for the Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 25 of 28 shots and had his personal five-game home winning streak snapped.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Period

The Sabres and Canadiens each had an unsuccessful power play and received key saves from their goaltenders in the scoreless first period.

Luukkonen held strong when – just seconds after the Montreal power play expired – Brendan Gallagher attempted to jam a loose puck in from the blue paint. Dobes did his part to keep the Sabres off the board late on a point-blank attempt from Jiri Kulich.

Buffalo’s forward line of Jordan Greenway, Dylan Cozens and Tuch forechecked their way to multiple extended shifts in the Montreal zone during the period, earning a 63.6-percent share of 5-on-5 shot attempts while on the ice.

Second Period

The two teams compensated for any lack of early scoring, combining for five goals during the second period with Montreal carrying a 3-2 lead into the intermission.

Buffalo nearly opened the scoring 30 seconds into the period on a JJ Peterka shot that hit the post and fell into the blue paint behind Dobes, who covered the puck before a Sabres player could push it past the goal line. Instead, Bowen Byram was called for slashing on the following shift and Caufield scored for Montreal on the power play.

The Sabres responded with goals scored 1:29 apart by Tuch and Kulich to pull ahead 2-1. Tuch’s goal came at the end of a long shift in the Canadiens’ end, which concluded with Jacob Bryson forcing a turnover down low and setting up Tuch’s one-time shot from the right circle. Kulich’s goal was also scored on a one-timer, set up by a cross-ice feed from Rasmus Dahlin.

The Canadiens issued the next response, beginning when Christian Dvorak set up Josh Anderson as the trailing man on a 4-on-3 rush for the tying goal from the slot.

Alex Newhook deflected a Mike Matheson pass to put the Canadiens back in front 3-2 with 2.6 seconds remaining in the period.

Third Period

The Sabres pushed for the tying goal throughout a physical, up-tempo final period but were held off the board by Dobes.

Evans scored an empty-net goal to seal the win for the Canadiens with 1:38 remaining.

POSTGAME SOUND

GAME PHOTOS

UP NEXT

The Sabres and Canadiens conclude the home-and-home set at Bell Centre on Monday. Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.